A journal about teaching English near the DMZ in Gangwon-do, South Korea.
"Teaching is love."

Survival Guide: Books for ELT/EPIK

What’s worked for
me/What I brought over here

Korean/English
dictionary, Teaching Adolescent Writers,
A Grammar Book for…, The First Days of School, When Kids Can’t Read, Korean
guidebook (authors below)

All
of these books have proven themselves helpful, but some may help you more than
others. Per my training as a Secondary English teacher, I brought a few books
which I’d studied in college. Whether or not they would work well with English
language teaching (ELT), I had no idea. The books simply had good strategies in
them. The First Days of School got
taken along because it focused on classroom procedures, which apply in any
classroom. I took my grammar book from college as well, since I knew questions
about English grammar would arise in or outside of class.

I
confess to not studying any Korean
prior to boarding the plane. I also didn’t study much about Korean culture
beyond reading a book about the country’s business culture. You might want to
do read some history and learn some words and phrases. I learned as I went
along. In retrospect, I should have read more about Korea prior to coming here. Perhaps
doing so would have cushioned the culture shock I experienced.

For you, the prospective
EPIK teacher

Read these books and take them with you

A Korean/English
Dictionary

Mine’s by a pocket edition by Berlitz. It’s
divided into Korean/English and English/Korean sections. It also includes a
guide to pronouncing Hangeul (한글), the Korean alphabet.

(Any) Grammar book

Mine is C.
Edward Good’s A Grammar Book for You and
I…Oops, Me! Not only does Goode explain grammar in plain English, he uses
excellent examples. I’ve referred to this book time and again in and out of
class. A good grammar book is crucial for your bookshelf here, because Korean
teachers and students will ask you about
grammar. It can happen at any time. As an EPIK teacher—the Guest English
Teacher is the official title—you will be considered the resident grammar
expert. Korean teachers will indeed know plenty about grammar, but they will have questions about it and its
usage. Please remember that despite what might be said elsewhere, you’re hired
as an English teacher and should
either know the language, or know how to find information about the language.

Bruce Cumings - Korea’s
Place in the Sun

I read this
book in my 2nd year in-country in 2013, but you’d do well to read
(or at least skim) it before coming here, for Cumings neatly summarizes Korea’s
history, especially after 1910. The times prior to 1910 tended to blur together
for me, but I got into the text after the Joseon Dynasty ended and the Japanese
took over. Korea
has seen rapid change in the past 100 years. Cumings’ book does a good job of
explaining it.

Also: Daniel Tudor - The Impossible Country

A newer history of Korea; I've only read excerpts, but it's readable and has a larger focus on pop culture in South Korea. Groove Magazine ran part of Tudor's section on music. It was there that I heard about the great guitarist Shin Joong-hyun.

Oxford Picture Dictionary: English/Korean Edition

Another book I bought after arriving. Special thanks to a middle school
co-teacher having it on his bookshelf, for I didn’t know of the book until I
saw it there. It’s big and useful because it puts language in the context of
pictures. I’ve found it helpful for learning the names of things in Korean. One
drawback, though: It doesn’t have a pronunciation guide.

Surviving as an EPIK
Teacher: Two books

English
Teacher X's Grammar Slammer and Speaking Activities That Don’t Suck (both
available as inexpensive e-books!)

Whereas Good’s book explains the how and why of
grammar, English Teacher X’s book shows how to teach grammar in class. It’s
concisely written and, having done some of the mini-lessons myself, I can say
that it’s useful. As for Speaking
Activities, the book delivers the goods in spades here. EPIK teachers at
any level usually have to teach “conversation,” which is, at best, a nebulous
concept. This book comes packed with minimal prep speaking activities to use in
class. It’s especially good for last minute classes, but use caution, for the
activities are short.

Also, though I recommend these books for their
practicality, English Teacher X writes in a style which some might find
objectionable. His salty tongue and penchant for lowbrow humor will either
annoy you or delight you. That said, he is an EL teacher with over a decade of
experience in multiple countries, so his material is tried and true.

Finally, though I’ve
only used these books in middle and high school contexts, the stuff inside
could be adapted to elementary teaching. English Teacher X lays down the how, and the following books discuss the
how, when, and why.

=============Longer list of what went into the suitcase:Kelly Gallagher - Teaching Adolescent WritersC. Edward Good - A Grammar Book for You and I...Oops, Me! Harry Wong - The First Days of SchoolKylene Beers - When Kids Can’t ReadKorean guidebook=============